Page 36 of So Silent

“Did you make an appointment? I have an exam in forty-five minutes.”

Faith’s lips thinned. “Agent Faith Bold. This is my partner, Special Agent—”

Lucas lifted his hands in irritation. "Are you listening to me? You need to make an appointment—"

Michael leaned over Lucas’s desk until his eyes were inches from the rude doctor. Lucas kept his affronted expression, but Faith was pleased to see his cheeks pale as much as the hospital’s receptionist.

“Can you read, Dr. Hammond?” Michael asked.

Lucas blinked. “What?”

“Can you read?” Michael pointed at his chest. “These three letters. Can you read them?”

“Y-yes, I can, but…”

“Good. So maybe stop acting high and mighty and listen to what we have to say. Unless you want to skip ahead to the part where we cuff you and walk you out of this hospital while loudly reading charges.”

“Charges? What’s going on?”

“Maybe try listening, and you’ll find out. Sound good?”

Lucas swallowed and nodded.

“Outstanding.” Michael straightened and nodded at Faith.

“Perfect. We’re investigating the murders of Maria Gonzalez, Rebecca Wells and Emily Chen.”

Lucas’s eyes widened. “She was murdered?”

“All three of the shes, in fact.”

“Yeah, but… Emily was one of them?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I didn’t do it.”

Faith and Michael shared a look before turning back to the doctor. Turk growled softly, and Lucas paled again.

“Sorry about that,” Faith said. “Turk really doesn’t like rude, self-important assholes.”

Lucas swallowed and said in a more subdued tone. “I really don’t know who killed them, okay? But it wasn’t me. I know you’re here because Emily sued me, right? And you think that because of that, I might have wanted her dead.”

“That, and you knew all three of the women.”

"What? No, I didn't."

“Ah,” Michael said, lifting his finger, “but you did. We have records that you saw all three women for complaints of sensitive hearing.”

Lucas scoffed. “Do you know how many people I see a day for hearing complaints?”

“Probably quite a few. But according to your own records, only eighty people in ten years have come to see you because of too much hearing. Three of those people are dead. All three of them were lured to said deaths with high-frequency sound equipment that wouldn’t bother someone with too little hearing but would be absolutely unbearable to someone with sensitive hearing. So we’re thinking that the killer knew that these women had sensitive hearing. We’re also thinking that he had a reason to want them dead. And we’re thinking that you had a reason.”

“Why? What possible reason could I have?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Faith answered. “How about, you almost lost your job, your career and your license because of the Emily Chen lawsuit? How about, maybe you did cut a few corners or make a few mistakes, and maybe Maria Gonzalez and Rebecca Wells suffered due to that mistake? Maybe you think you should get rid of the people who could take away everything you have.”

Lucas met her eyes and jutted his chin out. “How about, I won that lawsuit because it was baseless? How about, I don’t cut corners, and I don’t make mistakes, and there’s a reason I’m still the premier ENT in the Seattle area? Maybe I don’t want to lose my job, my career and my license, not to mention my freedom by killing some stuck-up bitch I already beat in court?”

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